HD dealer problems INTERESTING STORY

I decided I wanted to buy a HD for my 30th birthday in june after helping my buddy get his dad's bike running again (his dad passed a few years ago and it was in storage) He wanted me to ride it to "blow out the old gas" so I did, and I was hooked worse than heroin Anyway I called HD of Miami FLA because of an ad in a motorcycle trader. I told them I wanted a Nightster and he said he didn't have one, but he could put me on a Street Bob. Well the conversation ended there as I don't really like the 'bob. But he got me approved on financing (which is kind of a problem after bankruptcy) and he told me that I could go to any dealer in the country to buy a bike with the loan approval. So I went to my local dealer (Zepka HD Johnstown PA) and much to my suprise they didn't have a Nightster either... But they were more than willing to sell me a Night Train. I went to their used bike showroom and they had a 06 883 with an 1200R gas tank on it with 91 miles on it. It was marked at $7995. I told the old timer that was working there that I wanted the bike and to hold it for me (glad I didn't write a check for the deposit at that time) I went home and checked what the bike was worth and it turned out to be worth $5200. The next morning I talked to Chas at Zepka's about the price I offered him the $5200 for the bike, he told me that I was crazy to even offer him that figure. He told me that he could knock $500 off the price but that was the best he could do, but he had to charge me $500 for set up and $500 for delivery ON A USED BIKE!!! So the final price would have been $500 OVER THE $7995! I told him to pound sand and I started calling HD dealers around Pittsburgh. I finally found one at Zanotti's in Butler PA and guess what, they didn't charge me set up or delivery and they knocked $500 off the price after I told them the story on the used 883.
Soooooo.......... I went up to Zepka's one day for a sissy bar (they were the only dealer around with a black sissy bar setup for my bike in stock) and I got nothing but attitude from the sales staff and the owners. (the parts guys are ok at Zepka's but I throw up in my mouth when I walk in there I hate handing them my hard earned money) These guys can't believe that I didn't pay the $2000 privelidge tax for buying a bike from them! I mean they actually were mean to me because I got what I wanted for a great price. Chas at Zepka's knew that my financing situation wasn't great and he really didn't want my business I guess. Mick at Zanotti's treated me like he wanted me to hand him $10,000, not like I owed him something.
So...........I was looking on Zepka's website and I saw an area for customer testimonials. I read them and there were nothing but how great Zepka's was and this and that and how they bought some poor stranded biker lunch one day. My experience(s) were the exact polar opposite of every testimonial. So I wrote my own testimonial telling this story. About a week later my buddy (aforementioned in post with the soft tail) who happened to go to high school with chas was confronted with MY testimonial on a piece of paper. He blew it off and told me how upset the whole staff was at zepka's and I should go up there to talk with them to see if they could "make it right" so I did. When I showed up (to spend another couple hundred) the owner/ manager asked me not to say anything about Zepka's if I didn't have anything nice to say. He asked me if there was anything he could do to remedy this for me. I told him to post the testimonial to show that his company can take criticism, he basically told me to go (edited) myself. I haven't spent another penny at that dealer's since.

Has anyone had this similar experience with Zepka's? Or any other dealer for that matter? I mean c'mon we are not buying a toaster, $10,000 is a lot of money in my world, I think if I am going to put out that kind of money I should at least feel good about it. I didn't want my (edited) kissed at all, I just wanted to feel like my business was appreciated.

with regard to your specific situation. based on what you posted, i think my response to the owner/manager would have been different. i don't know that i would have told him (and expected him) to post the testimonial - that's just not going to happen.

when he said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it and asked what he could do to make it right, i would have told him to give me a reason to write something positive. then i would have asked him what he felt he could do to make it right. put the ball back into his court to earn a positive review. if i wasn't satisfied, i wouldn't step foot in that dealership ever again - there are plenty of other dealerships around...

man that seems to be the story with some of the dealers
i have had afew dealer problems but the funniest happened a couple years back
i just built my evo and i contacted hd in medford cause ever one told me these guys could run a dyno on my bike and adjust the carb &timing so i could pull out all the hidden power my bike had i made my appointment i told them i had a dyna 2000i ignition and a 42 mm mukuni carb with the run down of what was in the carb thay said there was no problem with this thay could set it up for me .well to make a long story short the day before i was going to have to make my way earley in the morning to be there when thay opened sense thay are 120 miles away i called them to make sure everthing was still cool cause thats along cold ride(in march )if something came up well i got to talk to the head wrench that does the dynos and sets the carbs he told me thay could not setup my bike cause of the 42mm muk he told me they could get no parts etc and sense the muk was not a hd carbthey didnt have the info to set it up ,i told him i though that was odd sense thay offer the 42 mm muk in their screaming eagle cat that i was thumbing threw as i was talking to him .i then decided i didnt want these guys touching my bike sense i knew more about what parts namely the muk then they knew that makes you have a lot of faith in the guys you are going to trust your machine with

I deal with Zepka's also. I find Al at the parts counter to be the best. The folks in the service area are also very helpful. I was replacing my rear axle last summer. I had to cut it into four pieces to get it out after the chain side bearing froze. With all the banging and slamming, a part fell off that I couldn't identify. I took it to the gal at the service counter and she turned it over to the guys in the shop who correctly identified it as half of my custom shock absorber bushing. I like the folks at Zepka's.

I guess it pays to shop around. Of course they have a lot of used bikes in overhead at the Bel Air Plaza, I would bet they need to make some money to pay the rent.

I deal with Zepka's also. I find Al at the parts counter to be the best. The folks in the service area are also very helpful. I was replacing my rear axle last summer. I had to cut it into four pieces to get it out after the chain side bearing froze. With all the banging and slamming, a part fell off that I couldn't identify. I took it to the gal at the service counter and she turned it over to the guys in the shop who correctly identified it as half of my custom shock absorber bushing. I like the folks at Zepka's.

I guess it pays to shop around. Of course they have a lot of used bikes in overhead at the Bel Air Plaza, I would bet they need to make some money to pay the rent.

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I have dealt with Al and the parts guys they are ok. The rest of the employees should take lessons on customer service from Al.

My last job used to send me past Gatto HD in Tarentum PA every day. I started going there for parts, and those guys are really great. Too bad they are 70 miles from home. I have called the guys at Gatto a couple of times to have them ship me parts and somehow they manage to ship the stuff for free. (I told them the Zepka story and they were almost embarassed that Zepka's had the HD name on their building)

What do we as owners of these machines have to do to show these butt pirates that we do in fact pay their salaries? I mean think about it, I don't know how many members this forum has but if each and every one of us stopped taking the "that is just the way a HD dealer is" mentality and started DOING something about it like boycotting lousy dealers maybe they would get the message. I know that Zepka isn't the only dealer around here, I go to Highland in Somerset for any warranty issues only because Zepka's treated me badly. And I tell my story because I don't want anyone to be screwed

MSRP stands for Manufactures suggested retail price. Would you pay an extra 20% over MSRP for a toaster or a coffee maker? Or would you pay and extra 20% for a new Ford Taurus? I sincerely doubt it. I know I wouldn't. The MSRP is what Harley decides is a fair price for their product. It is supposed to be the starting point for negotiations on price and in an ideal world you should be paying less than MSRP for your bike. Would you really be comfortable with even paying the sticker price on a new car? I know I wouldn't. Same thing goes on a used bike or car. If I want to pay what the "price tag says" for something I will go to walmart.

WE ALL NEED TO STOP PAYING THESE HD TAXES. REFUSE TO PAY A PENNY MORE THAN MSRP AND TELL THEM TO POUND WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE IF THEY ASK FOR A PENNY MORE!!! Another dealer WILL sell you THAT EXACT BIKE YOU WANT for MSRP and if you hammer on them long enough you probably will get them to knock a little off the MSRP. Just promise :s(as they "promise" all of us) to buy all of your chrome and accessories from them.

Without us there is no them.................. anic:eam

Again thanks for the soap box time

THE

P.S. Are there any dealers or employees on the forum who can give me some insight to why dealers continue to treat us like poop?

unfortunatley some dealers are like that. the way to stop that from being the case is to take your hard earned money somewhere that they appreciate the bussiness. oh,btw, the shop i work @ is happy to dyno tune ANY BIKE with ANY set up.

I've had good and bad experiences. There was one dealer in Ohio that solved a problem I was having while on a road trip. No appointment, got me in... fixed the problem immediately... under warranty... and hooked me up with lunch while I waited. Of course, also had the local dealership that changed my oil... opps... they removed the oil and didn't refill it at all!! Just made me start doing my own routine maintanence. As they say... buyer beware!